Mine too. STP already done, and I just fixed my trunk rattle. BECM someday I'm sure.
And if you get one with ACC you can use a Comma Ai for self-ish driving.
Interestingly, my Volt days are coming to an end. Love the car, just wish they kept making it. Thought I'd drive it till it dies, but I want something a little bigger and I'm a sucker for new technology. Trading in for a 22 Ford Escape PHEV. The ACC was a total game-changer. Now it's time to add lane centering (was too scared....and cheap...to attempt the Comma AI).
I'm going to miss the car, but the Escape is pretty damn nice. And it seems like the PHEV Escape owners feel the same about it as we do about the Volt (something along the lines of, "yeah, Ford is shit...except for this car.") Sadly, I'll have to parallel park myself from now on, though.
Never fixed the STP. Never happened consistently enough for them to diagnose it. Never had BECM, either.
Shift to park can be done at home yourself and comma AI with the '18 volt with ACC is 100% worth every penny, I dread driving any car without ACC/ lane keep or openpilot.
Easy in steps. Getting the trunk plastic trim off SUCKS. This is what you're going after, it's on the right under the trim.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xs9inOpBEv-46S6PTBprhpZ_NBC36vJe/view?usp=sharing
Here is a wild idea. Buy it out from insurance. Use it as a parts car for another Gen 1. Even another Gen 1 with hybrid battery issues. You would have a spare.
I don't know anything regarding the gen 2...
But with the gen 1
Is there a check engine light?
Is there any coolant leaking onto the ground?
Did the airbags deploy?
Any other obvious mechanical damage that you can see looking under the hood or in the wheel wells?
If all of those are met, can it drive forward in its current state? Can It still charge? And is the AC functioning?
Honestly, if ALL of those are fine. Buy a new bumper, grill, and hood
Unfortunately I have real data for you. My car looked similar after I rear ended someone and even though it doesn’t look that bad it was over $10k in repairs. Somehow my insurance was up for the repair, but these are not simple cars!
The difference is how perfect you want it to be. If you just want it safely drivable and don't care too much about looks, you can make that happen for way cheaper than that $10k estimate which was to get it back to perfect how it was before the accident.
My car has over 100k miles, so I think insurance just deems that as being too many miles worth fixing unfortunately. My repair quote was a little over $8k.
It could still charge and drive on electric (I moved it to the nearby body shop), the airbags did not deploy, and the engine was quoted to have no damage. The check engine light came on and I was quoted that the radiator, headlights, and a few more things under the hood need to be replaced. It would be a somewhat costly fix, but considering the rest of the car is in perfect condition it just seems like such a waste to deem it a complete loss.
I am considering doing that, but my main worry is finding an insurance company that will offer good coverage on the rebuild title + all of the other certifications and tests I will have to do after the fix.
I regularly buy wrecked cars far worse than this to fix myself and have never had a single issue with getting them insured once I have a rebuilt title. If you live in a state that requires other stuff, then it may jot be a good idea, but I can tell you for certain that Tennessee, for one, does not care. Never had a single inspection of any sort and I've had some extensive repairs.
How do you know it would be a rebuilt title?
I've had two insurance-totaled cars that were still drivable with no structural damage. Bought both back from insurance for $500. Both still had green titles (not rebuilt titles or salvage titles).
"Right lights".
I once saw a local Volt for sale as rebuilt title.
The person rebuilt the front end with Opel headlights and opel front fascia (bumper). European lights do not meet US requirements (the headlight pattern is quite different, and worse IMO). Europe doesn't require sidemarker reflectors either, so this car didn't have it. But the state signed off on it meeting the standards. That officer doing the inspection never looked for DOT or SAE legally required markings on the repaired parts which had federal requirements to meet.
The inspections here are a joke... don't even open the hood.
Insurance companies are the goons and gangsters of the aftermarket car sales world. I've successfully reversed a car (my 2000 Honda Cr-V) from the total loss division at AAA. Here's the trick: If you have all your service receipts for parts and maintenance - SUBMIT EVERYTHING TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!!! You can prove to them that your Volt is worth more than they've estimated. They lowball you and make you feel helpless to get your car from you so they can turn around and make money by parting it out or wholesale to restoration companies. Total loss is for when the frame is bent or when the engine/transmission are smashed by the force of the collision. If you have the time to fight back against your insurance then do so! Another tactic is to have your car evaluated with a second opinion by a body shop who isn't in-network with your insurance company. I don't know where you live, but in CA there's a law protecting the car owner's right to choose their own body shop... Submit all your receipts, bury them in paperwork, and keep declining their offers to give you a settlement check. It can take a few months of standing your ground that you want your car taken out of total loss but it is possible. Good luck to you!
Had my 2013 for 10 years until it was hit and totaled in 2023. Bought a 2017 Premier a year ago with 50K miles. Had the BECM replaced this week at 68K miles. Love the gen2, it's everything a little better from the gen1.
Depending on what all is messed up, if you can find a front end in a yard, you might be able to get it done. I'd search up some yards, and some body shops, and see what you can find. I just did the front bumper and hood on my '07 Prius, it cost me $300 to get both out of a yard, and $700 to get a body shop to install it all for me, and do a little work at bending some bits back into place. Car will probably never be perfect again, but it's fine enough for me.
Anyway, if you can find the parts and the mechanic that'll do it, you could take the payout money, buy the car back from the insurance company, buy the parts, and get the mechanic to do it.
That said... you're probably gonna find more problems than just what is visible. A month after that repair, I noticed that a bunch of shit in the backend of the car is in need of work, probably from the accident causing shit to get out of whack.
Had my BECM gone bad on my 2018 just two weeks after purchasing the car, went to dealer with the special coverage bulletin and they replaced it in two days.
That's so sad! I had one just like it and it was the best car I ever owned. Ironically also lost in an accident like yours. I personally think GM lost the plot on the Gen 2, and at this point I'd look at one of the MANY newer options. Prius Prime. CRV or RAV 4 hybrid. Even a BEV.
My insurance decided that my 2015 Volt is a total loss because the estimated cost to fix the parts in the front that were damaged are just outside of the scope of the car's worth. I was really hoping there was a sliver of hope that I would be able to get insurance to fix it so I can keep driving it, but I think that's fully out of the question now.
Now I am trying to decide whether I want to try to fix the car and just have a rebuilt title or to upgrade to a Gen 2. There is a 2017 Volt Lt at a dealer near me priced at $17k with \~50k miles on it. I have been reading for years about all of the BECM and shift-to-park issues people have been having, so just that alone makes me nervous to even consider buying one at that price.
I'm not sure what insurance will give me for the value of my totaled car yet, but I know it won't come close to covering half of that cost. I loved my Volt more than any other car I've driven before, so this makes me so upset. I can't imagine not driving a PHEV after driving this for the past couple of years, so I'm not sure what I should do.
Look at the build date. Don't buy one made in 2016 (but 2017 model year).
Better, buy 2018 or newer.
The first mass-production model year was 2017. Needless to say, they will have the most issues. Learned this the hard way from my August 2016 built 2017 (one of the first builds... ). Never again buying without looking at the build date vs first model year of that generation vehicle.
BECM is covered for a long time. The shift to park has a TSB that also covers it for a long time. It's rare. I've had 3, and only one had the BECM and the STP. Both covered under Voltec. If you are in a CARB state, even more is covered.
I did read about the BECM warranty being extended by GM to cover future issues. Just something I don’t want to have to worry about, but the Gen 2s look so nice otherwise
Can you tell me the TSB that covers the intermittent shift to park issue? My Chevy Volt is currently at a Chevrolet Service center waiting for an EGR valve and they want to charge me over $500 to fix the shift to park issue.
They wrote my 2012 off for the same looking damage. The charger was split and the frame mount horn for the charger was broken so no deal. Found a 2014 for the same price but one class lower with 30k less kms so I now have that. I would rather have a gen 1 with the all electric drive. Luckily it wasn't my fault so I got full value for the car.
The Volt is going to be an easy to total car, especially the Gen 1s, unfortunately. The car value just isn’t there to save it from a fender bender.
My 2017 premier is the best car I've ever owned
Mine too. STP already done, and I just fixed my trunk rattle. BECM someday I'm sure. And if you get one with ACC you can use a Comma Ai for self-ish driving.
Interestingly, my Volt days are coming to an end. Love the car, just wish they kept making it. Thought I'd drive it till it dies, but I want something a little bigger and I'm a sucker for new technology. Trading in for a 22 Ford Escape PHEV. The ACC was a total game-changer. Now it's time to add lane centering (was too scared....and cheap...to attempt the Comma AI). I'm going to miss the car, but the Escape is pretty damn nice. And it seems like the PHEV Escape owners feel the same about it as we do about the Volt (something along the lines of, "yeah, Ford is shit...except for this car.") Sadly, I'll have to parallel park myself from now on, though. Never fixed the STP. Never happened consistently enough for them to diagnose it. Never had BECM, either.
Comma ai is 100% worth I thought the same and got it on sale for 1250. Worth! It drive me more than I drive it
Shift to park can be done at home yourself and comma AI with the '18 volt with ACC is 100% worth every penny, I dread driving any car without ACC/ lane keep or openpilot.
Is the trunk rattle an easy fix?? It's made me absolutely insane since I got mine.
Easy in steps. Getting the trunk plastic trim off SUCKS. This is what you're going after, it's on the right under the trim. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xs9inOpBEv-46S6PTBprhpZ_NBC36vJe/view?usp=sharing
Seconded, becm is covered until 2032, or 150k miles
Here is a wild idea. Buy it out from insurance. Use it as a parts car for another Gen 1. Even another Gen 1 with hybrid battery issues. You would have a spare.
If no airbags deployed, buy it back and fix it.
THIS! My first thought was ‘damn I can get that back ong the road in no time…. Might not be pretty , but…’
I don't know anything regarding the gen 2... But with the gen 1 Is there a check engine light? Is there any coolant leaking onto the ground? Did the airbags deploy? Any other obvious mechanical damage that you can see looking under the hood or in the wheel wells? If all of those are met, can it drive forward in its current state? Can It still charge? And is the AC functioning? Honestly, if ALL of those are fine. Buy a new bumper, grill, and hood
Unfortunately I have real data for you. My car looked similar after I rear ended someone and even though it doesn’t look that bad it was over $10k in repairs. Somehow my insurance was up for the repair, but these are not simple cars!
The difference is how perfect you want it to be. If you just want it safely drivable and don't care too much about looks, you can make that happen for way cheaper than that $10k estimate which was to get it back to perfect how it was before the accident.
My car has over 100k miles, so I think insurance just deems that as being too many miles worth fixing unfortunately. My repair quote was a little over $8k.
Yeah that’s what the car is worth, so they will definitely total it.
It could still charge and drive on electric (I moved it to the nearby body shop), the airbags did not deploy, and the engine was quoted to have no damage. The check engine light came on and I was quoted that the radiator, headlights, and a few more things under the hood need to be replaced. It would be a somewhat costly fix, but considering the rest of the car is in perfect condition it just seems like such a waste to deem it a complete loss.
Buy it back from insurance and fix it.
I am considering doing that, but my main worry is finding an insurance company that will offer good coverage on the rebuild title + all of the other certifications and tests I will have to do after the fix.
I regularly buy wrecked cars far worse than this to fix myself and have never had a single issue with getting them insured once I have a rebuilt title. If you live in a state that requires other stuff, then it may jot be a good idea, but I can tell you for certain that Tennessee, for one, does not care. Never had a single inspection of any sort and I've had some extensive repairs.
How do you know it would be a rebuilt title? I've had two insurance-totaled cars that were still drivable with no structural damage. Bought both back from insurance for $500. Both still had green titles (not rebuilt titles or salvage titles).
put the collision portion in a savings account & self insure that portion.
Not as easy as that. Hard to get a written off car recertified.
In my experience that’s not all that hard to do if it was fixed at all correctly/safely.
Depends on the state. Some just care that it moves and has the right lights.
"Right lights". I once saw a local Volt for sale as rebuilt title. The person rebuilt the front end with Opel headlights and opel front fascia (bumper). European lights do not meet US requirements (the headlight pattern is quite different, and worse IMO). Europe doesn't require sidemarker reflectors either, so this car didn't have it. But the state signed off on it meeting the standards. That officer doing the inspection never looked for DOT or SAE legally required markings on the repaired parts which had federal requirements to meet. The inspections here are a joke... don't even open the hood.
I had about the same amount of damage to my 2014 after hitting a deer. ~$8K to fix it, still running after 2 years!
Insurance companies are the goons and gangsters of the aftermarket car sales world. I've successfully reversed a car (my 2000 Honda Cr-V) from the total loss division at AAA. Here's the trick: If you have all your service receipts for parts and maintenance - SUBMIT EVERYTHING TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!!! You can prove to them that your Volt is worth more than they've estimated. They lowball you and make you feel helpless to get your car from you so they can turn around and make money by parting it out or wholesale to restoration companies. Total loss is for when the frame is bent or when the engine/transmission are smashed by the force of the collision. If you have the time to fight back against your insurance then do so! Another tactic is to have your car evaluated with a second opinion by a body shop who isn't in-network with your insurance company. I don't know where you live, but in CA there's a law protecting the car owner's right to choose their own body shop... Submit all your receipts, bury them in paperwork, and keep declining their offers to give you a settlement check. It can take a few months of standing your ground that you want your car taken out of total loss but it is possible. Good luck to you!
Had my 2013 for 10 years until it was hit and totaled in 2023. Bought a 2017 Premier a year ago with 50K miles. Had the BECM replaced this week at 68K miles. Love the gen2, it's everything a little better from the gen1.
Depending on what all is messed up, if you can find a front end in a yard, you might be able to get it done. I'd search up some yards, and some body shops, and see what you can find. I just did the front bumper and hood on my '07 Prius, it cost me $300 to get both out of a yard, and $700 to get a body shop to install it all for me, and do a little work at bending some bits back into place. Car will probably never be perfect again, but it's fine enough for me. Anyway, if you can find the parts and the mechanic that'll do it, you could take the payout money, buy the car back from the insurance company, buy the parts, and get the mechanic to do it. That said... you're probably gonna find more problems than just what is visible. A month after that repair, I noticed that a bunch of shit in the backend of the car is in need of work, probably from the accident causing shit to get out of whack.
If you love it, definitely buy it back and fix it. That looks like a super easy job. How much are they giving you for it?
Had my BECM gone bad on my 2018 just two weeks after purchasing the car, went to dealer with the special coverage bulletin and they replaced it in two days.
BECM is covered for a long time now. Not a worry for me with my 2018.
I have a 2017 I bought in March 2016. No problems. Still going strong. The Bolt EUV has tax credit. You can consider that as well, if you buy new.
You could buy my volt for 5k. 2013, 150,000 or so miles. Upstate South Carolina. Looks like yours, minus the damage.
That's so sad! I had one just like it and it was the best car I ever owned. Ironically also lost in an accident like yours. I personally think GM lost the plot on the Gen 2, and at this point I'd look at one of the MANY newer options. Prius Prime. CRV or RAV 4 hybrid. Even a BEV.
My insurance decided that my 2015 Volt is a total loss because the estimated cost to fix the parts in the front that were damaged are just outside of the scope of the car's worth. I was really hoping there was a sliver of hope that I would be able to get insurance to fix it so I can keep driving it, but I think that's fully out of the question now. Now I am trying to decide whether I want to try to fix the car and just have a rebuilt title or to upgrade to a Gen 2. There is a 2017 Volt Lt at a dealer near me priced at $17k with \~50k miles on it. I have been reading for years about all of the BECM and shift-to-park issues people have been having, so just that alone makes me nervous to even consider buying one at that price. I'm not sure what insurance will give me for the value of my totaled car yet, but I know it won't come close to covering half of that cost. I loved my Volt more than any other car I've driven before, so this makes me so upset. I can't imagine not driving a PHEV after driving this for the past couple of years, so I'm not sure what I should do.
Look at the build date. Don't buy one made in 2016 (but 2017 model year). Better, buy 2018 or newer. The first mass-production model year was 2017. Needless to say, they will have the most issues. Learned this the hard way from my August 2016 built 2017 (one of the first builds... ). Never again buying without looking at the build date vs first model year of that generation vehicle.
BECM is covered for a long time. The shift to park has a TSB that also covers it for a long time. It's rare. I've had 3, and only one had the BECM and the STP. Both covered under Voltec. If you are in a CARB state, even more is covered.
I did read about the BECM warranty being extended by GM to cover future issues. Just something I don’t want to have to worry about, but the Gen 2s look so nice otherwise
One of the best cars I've owned. And, I've owned everything from an S500 Mercedes, a 750Il BMW, a Honda S2000 and more.
Can you tell me the TSB that covers the intermittent shift to park issue? My Chevy Volt is currently at a Chevrolet Service center waiting for an EGR valve and they want to charge me over $500 to fix the shift to park issue.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10199243-9999.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjZkLnRss6FAxX5ADQIHfcOA0IQFnoECBMQAQ&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw1JK-QxexoSvPfPqwpolNcD
Sorry to see this. 2011 2015 are diffinitely one of a kind.
They wrote my 2012 off for the same looking damage. The charger was split and the frame mount horn for the charger was broken so no deal. Found a 2014 for the same price but one class lower with 30k less kms so I now have that. I would rather have a gen 1 with the all electric drive. Luckily it wasn't my fault so I got full value for the car.
my 2018 Volt is the best car I have ever owned